Traditional Indian way of eating – an overview

• Main Authors: Shweta Hegde, Leena P. Nair, Haritha Chandran, Haroon Irshad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2018-03-01
• Series: Journal of Ethnic Foods
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618118300064

Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food, typically to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and to allow for growth. Hands are most vital for cooking sustenance and for eating. Many individuals find eating with hands unhygienic, primitive, and nauseating; however, eating food with hands is associated with not just the body but also the psyche and soul. There is rationality behind the Indian routine of eating with fingers. Different types of vessels are used as needed to set up the sustenance . In Indian families, distinctive leaves such as banana leaf and jerk teak leaf are used for serving food. While eating in abundance, one must use hands to feel the food. Eating with a spoon or fork is often the current practice and is considered clean and advantageous; however, the vast majority of people do not understand that there is reasoning behind eating sustenance with hands. Eating by sitting on the floor has multitudinous advantages and is yet to be popularized in different regions across Asia. Keywords: Hands, Leaves, Meal on the floor, Vessels, Way of eating